


Only The Pretty Ones

by sperrywink



Category: The Losers (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Hand Jobs, M/M, Making Out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-13
Updated: 2014-05-13
Packaged: 2018-01-24 16:01:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1611041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sperrywink/pseuds/sperrywink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jake Jensen is a 15-year-old senior in high school. No surprise he isn't popular. What is a surprise is when Carlos Alvarez kisses him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Only The Pretty Ones

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to jujitsuelf for the quick beta. You are a darling.

Jake stumbled to a halt, and gaped at Carlos Alvarez sitting quietly on the ground near the gurgling stream. Of course Jake knew who Carlos Alvarez was. He, along with Clay and Roque, were the stars of the football team; Carlos playing the kicker position, while Clay and Roque were defensive linemen. They also happened to be some of the most popular kids at school. What he didn’t know was what Carlos Alvarez was doing in “his” spot.

The local, poncy, liberal arts college had a small canyon running through its campus, and it offered many secluded spots at the upper tip of the canyon at the edge of the campus away from the ruckus of the students. His spot was the perfect blend of solitude and privacy, and Jake had previously never run into another soul there. 

Carlos shifted his gaze to Jake, and his dark eyes gleaming in the light of Jake’s flashlight seemed to pin Jake to the spot and steal his voice. Then Carlos blinked, and Jake let out the breath he was holding. Carlos shifted a little to the left, making just enough room for Jake to sit next to him. Whispering under his breath, Jake said, “Okay,” and eased forward to sit cross-legged next to Carlos. 

Clicking off his flashlight, they both stared silently at the moonlight reflecting off the water for a while, but Jake wasn’t good with silence when there were other people around. All too soon he was running at the mouth, although in a whisper since the hushed gloom around them didn’t invite loud conversation.

“So I’ve never seen you here before, and I gotta admit I come here a lot.” It was on the tip of his tongue to ask Carlos if he had come here before, but one look at the dead silent figure next to him, and he kept his question to himself. Instead he kept up a stuttering monologue on the canyon, school, computer games, all while deliberately not mentioning his drunk, arguing parents, who were the reason he was hanging out in a canyon nearing midnight on a Friday night anyway. 

By the time Jake started running out of things to talk about, his ass was cold and hurting from the hard-packed ground, and his hands were freezing. Carlos never said a word, or even indicated that he was listening to Jake. 

After a few minutes of silence, Carlos picked up Jake’s flashlight and clicked it on, pointing it at the ground. He stood up with a grunt, and surprising Jake, held out a hand to help Jake up. Taking his hand, Jake stumbled up, ready to apologize for interrupting Carlos’ night, although he was still a bit peeved Carlos had been in his spot, so why he felt like apologizing, he just didn’t know. However, Carlos didn’t let go of his hand once Jake was standing, and instead tugged Jake towards the opposite path. The flashlight was guiding Carlos’ footsteps, but Jake was stumbling over the uneven ground blind since the meager light didn’t reach back to him. He said, “Hey! I live the other way.”

He could see Carlos shoot a look back at him, but it was too dark to make out his expression. Taking a breath to protest again, it whooshed out when Carlos carefully put the hand holding the little flashlight over Jake’s mouth as if to silence him. 

Carlos started walking again, tugging with their clasped hands, and Jake followed silently, his heart hammering in his ribcage. Wild pictures of being led into a trap, and getting the shit kicked out of him or worse flittered through his brain, but he reminded himself that Carlos had never shown signs of being a bully or violent. Plus, although the canyon felt secluded, it was all an illusion. The college was right there, and private houses ringed the upper edge of the canyon.

They followed the path up out of the canyon, ending up near a couple of buildings set up the hill from the main part of the campus. Jake thought one of them was the art building, if he remembered correctly. There was a paved path perpendicular to their path, and Carlos took it going towards the art building away from the main campus. They walked along the side of the building, back into the darkness until they reached a bench on the canyon side of the building. 

Carlos clicked off the flashlight, and gently crowded Jake towards the bench with a hand at his hip. Jake ran into the bench kind of suddenly, he was too confused by Carlos’ actions to have been really paying attention to where it was, and sat down heavily with an “Oomph.”

Before he could gather his wits, his hands were going out to steady Carlos’ hips as Carlos climbed into his lap, kneeling over Jake. He just had time to mutter, “Whoa, hey there,” before Carlos was kissing him.

Jake’s mind whited out.

By the time it stuttered back to life, his hands were on Carlos’ ass, pulling him in tight at Jake’s groin, and Jake was making whimpering, guttural moans deep in his throat as they exchanged deep, sucking kisses.

Suddenly Carlos pulled back and slammed one hand over Jake’s mouth again. Stilling and remaining quiet, Jake could just hear the static and tinny voice of the security guard’s radio as he passed by the front of the building. Carlos’ eyes were staring holes into his, and Jake felt like a butterfly pinned to a board.

As the sound of the radio faded into the distance, Carlos heaved a sigh, and slowly removed his hand. Then he brushed an easy kiss on Jake’s mouth, and then in an oddly chaste move, one on his cheek. He sighed again as he finished his kisses, and slowly slid to his feet. Jake, finally figuring out that their making out was over, let his hands drop from Carlos’ ass, which made him blush as he remembered how he had been squeezing said ass just moments ago, and whooshed out a breath.

He was waiting for Carlos to say something, anything really, but he realized that was not going to happen about the time Carlos handed him his flashlight, and started back the way they had come. Jake scrambled to follow him, and when he reached the lighted path, Carlos was waiting, and with a small, secretive smile, waved at Jake, and them ambled away towards where Jake knew the 24-hour supermarket was at the edge of campus.

Too stunned to follow, Jake watched him go. Finally shaking off his stupor, he said, “What the fuck?”

* * *

Monday morning, Jake was reminded that he was _not_ one of the most popular kids at school as he was shoved into a bank of lockers by someone from the basketball team with a, “Out of the way, loser,” thrown in his general direction. He didn’t take it personally. Luckily he wasn’t so far down on the food chain to be anything but a nameless face to most of the popular students.

Sighing, he adjusted his glasses back into place, and turned to Pooch to say, “You’d think being a jerk would get old for these assholes.”

Pooch slammed his locker shut, and replied, “By definition it will never get old for them.”

Resigned, Jake just said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

He had gone back to “his” spot both Saturday and Sunday, but Carlos had never been back, nor had there been any sign he had ever been there. Jake was starting to wonder if it had been a really vivid dream. He didn’t know which scenario was more likely. Carlos Alvarez making out with him, or him making up the entire thing. Both seemed equally out there. 

If it was only a fantasy, his subconscious couldn’t have picked anyone better. Carlos Alvarez had silky black hair, soulful eyes, and a compact, tight body that had featured in more than one of Jake’s masturbatory fantasies. Which was why he wasn’t discounting a psychotic break, and that he had imagined every second of it. It was too good to be true.

Jake bumped fists with Pooch as Pooch headed off to auto shop, while Jake was heading for his English class, which just happened to be the only class he shared with Carlos.

Taking a deep breath, he walked into the classroom, his gaze going to the back of the room without his consent. Carlos was there goofing off with his friends Clay and Roque. He didn’t even seem to notice Jake. Jake tore his gaze away, and settled in his seat near the front of the class.

As the teacher called the class to order, Jake felt like he was being watched, but he figured that was just his imagination. But what if it wasn’t? Knocking his pen off his desk, Jake leaned down to pick it up, giving him the opportunity to turn around surreptitiously, and see if Carlos was watching him. He wasn’t. 

If it had happened, Carlos probably didn’t consider Friday night important, which, honestly, why would he? He had quite the reputation around school, and even with his reputation, girls still threw themselves at him. He probably just made out with Jake because he was there, and had already moved on.

Jake sighed. It wasn’t like Carlos had known that it had been Jake’s first kiss. There was no reason for him to think it had been anything special. It was probably just an average Friday night for him.

Jake told himself this firmly, and deliberately focused back on the teacher.

* * *

Jake took a sip from his warm beer, grimacing slightly at the bitter taste, as the party raged around him. He had come as wingman for Pooch, who was trying to hook up with a junior called Jolene, which meant he was stuck alone at a party of underclassman once Pooch had sighted Jolene, and left Jake in the dust.

Luckily it wasn’t a popular kid’s party, just some average Joe’s, so he didn’t have to dodge basketball players or football players when refreshing his drink after holding up the wall between the kitchen and the living room. Jake knew he should make more of an effort to be social, but really, even though most of these kids were closer to his age than the other seniors were, he totally felt too old for all of them.

Just then there was a commotion at the front door, and Jake cursed at jinxing himself as members of the football team came into view like conquering heroes. Banging his head back against the wall, Jake ditched his drink, and then wandered upstairs to avoid them, as well as to get in line for the bathroom. 

He figured Pooch was fine without him, he had disappeared over an hour ago, so once he peed, he would ditch this place and go to his spot to waste another hour before attempting to sneak into his room.

Coming out of the bathroom he could hear shouts and breaking glass over the sound of the music blaring from downstairs, and he rolled his eyes. Of course things got out of control once the football team showed up.

Before he could make it to the stairs, one of the people on line broke ranks, barreled right into him, and pushed him into a dark room. He got out a, “Whoa,” before he hit the bed and sprawled back on it. The door snicked shut, the light was turned on, and Carlos was standing there looking at him with a hot and hungry expression.

As he watched Carlos stalk towards him intently, his mouth dried up. Looking as deadly as a jaguar, Carlos crawled over his body, pushing Jake’s thighs apart as he went. He dropped his weight onto Jake, causing Jake to hiss through his teeth as their clothed cocks rubbed together, and smiled that secretive smile before kissing him ardently.

Jake was moaning before their tongues even touched, he was so turned on. Just like the first make-out session, time seemed to stretch and pull like taffy. He didn’t know whether touches and kisses lasted minutes or seconds, he just knew he never wanted them to stop.

Carlos had pushed up his t-shirt, and was sliding his tongue along Jake’s abs, while Jake had a fistful of his hair, when the door banged open. Jake startled, but Carlos didn’t even twitch. It was Carlos’ friend Roque in the doorway, glaring at them fiercely. Even with that, Jake’s hard-on didn’t diminish an iota, since Carlos was now tongue-fucking his belly button. Roque said, “There you are! Do you hit on everybody? Dude.”

Jake mewled as Carlos stilled. He missed that tongue already. Carlos turned his head and told Roque, “Sólo las bonitas.”

Jake’s brain tried to parse the Spanish, except he was taking German. It sounded like he was talking about bonnets, which made no sense at all. Girls wore bonnets. Pulling on Carlos’ hair, he indignantly asked, “Did you just call me a girl?”

Carlos blinked at him, and Jake suddenly realized that Carlos was more than a little tipsy. Blinking slowly again, Carlos said, “No. I called you pretty.”

Too stunned to speak, Jake just gaped at Carlos. Pretty was for girls, not manly men like Jake wanted to be. Before he could gather his wits, Roque was gripping the back of Carlos’ jeans and his shoulder, pulling him off the bed, and hustling him out of the room. He was saying, “Come on, Casanova, time to go.”

Jake lay there for a second, before realizing what he must look like sprawled on the bed with his shirt rucked up, and his thighs spread. He quickly got up, smoothing down his clothes. As he made his way out of the house party, he realized that the prior making out probably wasn’t his fevered imagination after all.

* * *

Jake wasn’t sure what to expect come Monday. Maybe for the football team to attack him out of homophobia, or for rumors to be spreading like wildfire through the school. Covert glances being thrown his way, and whispered conversations stopping as he passed in the halls. 

Since he was prepared for it and on guard, of course nothing happened all morning. Instead as he was sitting down for lunch with Pooch, pulling out the sandwich he had made that morning, he was startled by the screech of the metal legs of the chairs being pulled out from the opposite side of the table. Out of the corner of his eye, Jake could see Pooch gaping next to him, but he couldn’t rib him about it because he suspected he had a similar expression on his face. Clay and Roque were sitting down opposite them, and giving Jake the stink eye. Maybe he had relaxed too soon about the football team beating him up.

Never one to be lost for words long, Jake questioned, “Uh, hi?”

Talking to Roque, Clay said, “Him, really?”

Roque just nodded, kind of morosely, now that Jake was studying him.

Clay turned back to Jake and said, “Aren’t you like some nerd, prodigy, fourteen-year-old?”

“Hey! I’m fifteen!”

Clay rolled his eyes. “Oh, that makes all the difference.”

“What do you care anyway?” Peeved now, Jake couldn’t stop running his mouth, although he knew the other two guys could pound him into the ground without breaking a sweat, and he should shut his mouth and play along. He had had one growth spurt, so thankfully wasn’t short for his age, but he had nothing like the bulk on these two.

With an incredulous look on his face, Clay leaned forward and whispered a furious response back. “What do we care? When our best friend is robbing the cradle, you damn well better believe we care.”

Jake held up both hands. “Whoa, hey. There is none of that going on.”

Now Roque leaned forward. “So it wasn’t you Carlos was getting his freak on with Saturday night? Try again. I saw you with his tongue all over you.”

Interjecting, Pooch turned to Jake. “Hold on a minute! You made out with Carlos Alvarez and you didn’t tell me?”

Feeling like things were getting out of control, Jake said, “I was going to!”

“When?” Pooch asked, with a shove to Jake’s shoulder. 

Pooch was glaring daggers at him, and he was so distracted by the easy-going Pooch being that upset, that he answered honestly. “When I knew it wasn’t all a dream.”

Clay and Roque both snickered, and Jake glared at them. Clay asked, “So you dream about Carlos a lot?”

Jake wanted to say, “No,” but he knew he couldn’t do it convincingly. He just upped his glare, which had no effect whatsoever on anyone. Roque just crossed his arms making his biceps bulge, while Pooch hit him again.

Pooch, the traitor, said, “He certainly talks about him enough.”

Jake felt compelled to protest. “I do not!”

“Please! You’ve had a crush on him since sophomore year. I know more about his beautiful eyes than any straight man should.”

Suddenly from behind Jake, Carlos asked, “You think my eyes are beautiful?”

Twisting around so fast, he could feel his back twinge, Jake stared at Carlos in horror. Carlos had that small, secretive smile on again, and his warm, and beautiful, eyes were fixed on Jake’s. Jake started stuttering out sounds, but no actual words. He couldn’t get his mouth to say anything intelligible.

Carlos’ smile grew infinitesimally bigger, and setting his tray down next to Jake, he sat down. His gaze flickered back to Jake, who finally closed his mouth with a sharp click of teeth, and stared across the table at Clay and Roque in horror. They were both smirking at him, so he knew they had seen Carlos coming up to the table, and deliberately hadn’t warned him. 

Roque’s expression changed to one of sharp intentness, and he looked over at Carlos. He said, “So we’re just getting to know Jake a bit better, Carlos.”

Now Carlos’ expression closed off, and he just hummed in response, putting a forkful of food into his mouth. Of course, since it was cafeteria food, he then grimaced, and looked down at his tray in disgust.

Jake tried not to find it cute.

Roque was undeterred. “Did you know that Jake is fifteen?”

Carlos looked up at Jake sharply. “But you’re a senior?”

Blushing and cursing his fair skin, Jake said, “I skipped a couple grades.”

Unable to break his staring contest with Carlos, Jake still saw Roque lean back in his chair as if to say, “My work here is done,” and Jake wanted to hurt him. He kicked out under the table, and was gratified when Roque jolted and cursed under his breath. Carlos’ gaze flickered to Roque, but then focused on Jake again. “I didn’t know.”

Kind of desperately, Jake asked, “Does it matter? I’m getting emancipated once I hit college.” It was the end of April now, so college wasn’t that far away.

Carlos didn’t say anything, but Clay asked, “Isn’t that a bit extreme?”

“You don’t know my parents.”

That got him another sharp look from Carlos, but Jake wasn’t going to say anymore. His relationship with his parents was his business, not anybody else’s. Carlos sighed, and said, “I don’t know.” 

“Come on! It’s just a couple of months.” Jake then realized he was treating two make-out sessions like a relationship, which was stupid. They hadn’t even been on a date. He backtracked rapidly, even though it was killing him. “Unless you’re not interested. That’s cool, whatever.”

Both Clay and Roque snorted out in laughter, and Jake stared at them. He looked over at Carlos, who was glaring again and looked a little flushed, and Pooch was saying, “What? I don’t get it.”

Roque said, “Oh, he’s definitely interested. He wouldn’t shut up about you all Saturday night. I’ve never heard him talk so much.”

Jake blushed again, but still he could feel a silly grin spreading across his face. Carlos hissed something in Spanish that Jake didn’t catch, and Roque jumped again. Roque said, “Hey! Will the two of you stop kicking me?”

Carlos ignored him, just like Jake did. They were staring at each other again, and the air felt heavy between them. Jake could see a myriad of expressions pass over Carlos’ face. Embarrassment, resignation, inquiry, and maybe hope.

Jake suspected a similar progression of looks crossed his own face, but he was too busy watching Carlos’ eyes shift color with his mood to let it worry him. Almost without thought, with his hand under the table, he crossed his fingers, and sent a wish out into the ether. Please, please, please let Carlos want him enough to wait.

Finally Carlos broke their staring match, and dropped his gaze, before looking back up at Jake softly. “Where are you going to college?”

“MIT. How about you?”

Hope that had started to bloom in Jake’s chest died when Carlos said, “My plan was to join the Marines.”

With a disappointed frown, Jake could no longer hold Carlos’ gaze. He looked down at the table, and his uneaten sandwich. “Oh. That’s probably not going to take place in Massachusetts, is it?”

“Probably not, no.”

“So, that’s it, I guess?” Jake couldn’t keep the morose look off his face. He probably looked like a hound dog.

Carlos ducked his head, and then slanted a look back at Jake. “We can be friends, yes?”

“Of course, totally. Friends.” 

They stared at each other again. Jake could see the hope and wariness in Carlos’ gaze, and wondered what his own was saying, since his emotions were all over the place. Just then, Clay snorted and shook his head like he didn’t believe them. Jake glared at him. If all he could have was Carlos’ friendship, it would be enough. It had to be.

* * *

The next two months flew by, and oddly enough they did manage to be friends. As the weather improved, Jake started spending more time in “his” spot, and Carlos showed up maybe once a week, sometimes more. He still didn’t say much, he had never been a talkative guy, but he listened intently to Jake as he rambled on about school, the future, and everything. It was nice, and kept Jake’s hope alive that they might be able to make things work in the future.

He knew it was a futile hope, really, since who in their right mind would wait for him, but his heart didn’t care. It was especially hard to tell himself to be reasonable since Carlos didn’t go back to hooking up with a different girl every week the way he had before. It was such a change from his previous behavior that this managed to spark rumors around school, although none mentioned Jake.

Carlos refused to admit anything, just shrugged his shoulders, and leaned on his locker looking unruffled and cool. Jake was a little jealous at how well he could deter the gossips. His eyes never shifted to Jake when he was being interrogated, and he only nodded distantly to him in the hallways and their English class. So although Jake was heartened that Carlos didn’t find himself a girlfriend or boyfriend, he was unsure if that actually had anything to do with him. He just desperately wanted it to.

A week or so before finals, and the night before the prom, Jake was hanging out in his spot again, even though it was only early evening. His parents were both home early, drinking and fighting, and he didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire.

Hearing a rustling sound, he looked up to see Carlos there with a surprised look on his face. Jake said, “Hey! I didn’t know you planned on coming out tonight.”

Carlos shrugged, and as Jake moved his school books to make room, settled down cross-legged next to Jake. “It is too noisy at my house.”

“Yeah? Your sisters again?” Carlos had mentioned once before that he had four younger sisters. Jake couldn’t even begin to imagine the chaos that must make up Carlos’ home life. Since Jake’s sister had moved out it was just him and his parents, and they all did their best to avoid each other. On the other hand, from what Carlos implied, it seemed like his family was very close and was always butting into each other’s business. Jake was a little jealous some days.

Carlos nodded with a huge sigh, and Jake couldn’t stop his grin from expanding. “So more tea parties, and wearing ballerina skirts?”

“Worse. Maria wants to date.”

“How old is she again?”

“Twelve. My parents are standing firm that the girls can’t date until they are sixteen. However I had my first girlfriend at fourteen, and they are complaining about the double-standard.”

“Oh, yeah that’s got to be dicey.”

“I don’t want to get in the middle of it. I’ll be gone soon enough.”

“Right. How goes that, by the way? The Marine thing?” Jake didn’t really want to know, but he felt he should ask to be a good friend. Plus, his rational brain thought his heart needed the reminder that it was still going to happen.

Carlos gave him a grin, and Jake’s breath caught. Carlos was just so gorgeous when he smiled like that. Carlos said, “It’s going well. I met with the recruiter, and I signed the papers. I start Basic in July.”

Jake felt his heart drop. “That soon, huh? Not much of a summer for you.”

Carlos gave him a commiserating look, but just nodded his assent. Jake could tell that Carlos knew how he still felt, but was too gentlemanly to mention it. Had he mentioned that this friends thing sucked? Particularly since Carlos was so hard to read.

Wanting to change the topic, Jake’s eyes fell on his school books, which reminded him of prom. As casually as he could, he asked, “So, who are you taking to prom?”

Carlos resettled so that his knees were up, and his crossed arms were resting on them. He didn’t look at Jake as he said, “No one. I didn’t want to go with any of the girls who asked me.”

Jake’s jaw dropped. “Holy shit, dude, girls actually asked you to prom? You really are a stud.”

Giving Jake a look, and then rolling his eyes, Carlos hunched his shoulders. “Like I said I didn’t want any of them.”

“Sorry, sorry. I knew you were popular and everything, but that is way outside my experience. Girls asking you out, wow.” Carlos gave him a bitchy look, and Jake grimaced back. “Sorry again. I’ll shut up now.”

After a moment of silence, Carlos asked, “How about you?” He was biting his lip.

Jake scoffed. “No girls asked me to prom, I can tell you that much.” At another bitchy look from Carlos, Jake waved a placating hand, and said, “I plan on playing World of Warcraft until I can’t stand being in the house anymore, and then probably coming here. So another standard Saturday night in the Jensen house.”

“Maybe you’d like to join me? I was hoping to go see the new _X-Men_ movie, and then afterwards hanging out in the hotel room that Clay and Roque rented.”

“Won’t they mind us crashing their hotel room?”

“Nah, they’re turning it into a party of sorts.”

Jake wanted desperately to spend time with Carlos, but he felt compelled to ask, “Are you sure you want to go to the movies? I mean, it’s prom. Only losers like me are left out. I’m sure you could find a date, even this late.”

“I’d rather spend the night with you.”

Jake couldn’t have contained his grin and blush if he had tried. Which he didn’t. “Well, okay then. _X-Men_ it is.”

Carlos smiled at him, and they just sat there grinning stupidly at each other as the sun set and painted the water pink and gold. Jake felt like they were on the precipice of something, but tried to step back from that feeling. Nothing had really changed. Carlos was still leaving in July, and Jake was still fifteen.

* * *

Jake was trying not to freak out, but it was a struggle. What on earth was he supposed to wear? Was this a date? Should he dress up? He didn’t even have any dressy clothes. Should he borrow something from his dad? Which would raise questions that he didn’t want to answer, so probably not.

With all of his clothes strewn around his room, he finally broke down and called Pooch, who laughed long and hard at him, the bastard. Once he finally calmed down, he talked Jake down, and Jake finally settled on his newish jeans and a short-sleeved, button-down shirt. He hoped it didn’t look like he was trying too hard, but at the same time like he was still putting in some effort. Or something like that. What did he know, he’d only ever gone to the movies with Pooch.

Luckily his parents were out, so he didn’t have to sneak out of the house. He hadn’t known they would be gone, so he had told Carlos he would meet him at the theater. He walked to the movie house, which was only about two miles away, and arrived with plenty of time to spare, even though Carlos was already there.

As Jake came abreast of him, Carlos said, “I bought our tickets already.”

“I can pay you back.”

Carlos shrugged, and waved a hand at Jake. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I’ll at least pay for our drinks and popcorn,” Jake offered instead. Carlos nodded, so Jake smiled back, and held the door open for him.

They bought refreshments, and settled in the exact center of the theater. They were early enough to get the good seats as Jake saw it. Far enough back to be able to see well, but close enough that few people would want to sit in front of them. 

The movie was great, and Jake was hyped up on adrenaline and caffeine by the time it was over. They walked out into the darkness with Jake talking loud and excitedly, waving his hands as he rhapsodized about the climactic scene. Carlos was smiling at him, and even though there was more than a hint of mockery to it, Jake could tell it was good-natured, so he just pushed Carlos’ shoulder, and didn’t interrupt the flow of his thoughts.

They walked to Carlos’ car, and Jake kept up the conversation all the way to the hotel, where he lost his nerve and shut up. He would never have had the gumption to crash Clay and Roque’s hotel room on prom night if not for Carlos. Luckily there were tons of their classmates loitering around the hotel lobby that called out hellos to Carlos, which distracted him from noticing Jake’s sudden mood change.

Carlos didn’t linger in the lobby, he waved to everyone, but kept moving at a steady clip towards the elevators. Jake just followed in his wake trying to look inconspicuous. He doubt he succeeded; he could see the perplexed looks they were receiving.

Carlos smiled at him once they were in the elevator heading for the fourth floor, and Jake smiled back, but Carlos could apparently tell Jake was out of his depth, because once they stepped into the hallway, he paused and said, “We can just leave. Go to the canyon.”

“No, it’s cool, man. You should get to spend time with your friends.”

“I see them every day. I’m here with you now.”

They stared at each other, Jake searching Carlos’ eyes for any hint as to what he meant, if he meant what Jake hoped. Before Jake could get up the nerve to ask, a door banged open a little ways down the hallway, and a couple kids spilled out, including Clay and Roque. Clay shouted, “Carlos! There you are, you fucker!”

Clay, already drunk, pulled Carlos into a hug. Carlos tried to hold Clay up, but he was kind of a slight guy in comparison, so he staggered. Before Jake could get out of the way, they bumped into him, and Clay switched to throwing his arms over both of their shoulders. Clay said, “Have we got a surprise for you. Roque and I couldn’t take the pining anymore, so we arranged a little surprise.”

Jake could see Carlos struggling to get away from Clay on the other side, but Jake was just confused. Carlos was saying, “I wasn’t _pining_ , you asshole.” He avoided looking at Jake.

Roque said, “Please. I was against this from the start, but even now I’m convinced you’re fucking made for each other.”

Jake was just about to ask about this supposed pining Carlos had been doing, when Clay stopped them in front of a door, and Roque swiped the hotel keycard to open it. It wasn’t the same room they had come spilling out of, and Jake wondered how many rooms they had rented.

Clay said, “So despite our reservations, we got you guys this gift. We trust you can take it from here.” Then he pushed both Carlos and Jake hard on the back, and they both stumbled into the room. Jake was so off-balance, he ended up on his hands and knees, while Carlos managed to keep his feet by resting a hand on Jake’s back. The door was pulled shut behind them to loud catcalls, and hoots of laughter.

Carlos dropped to his knees, leaving his hand on Jake’s back. “Are you all right?”

Jake nodded, and said, “I’m okay. Takes more than a few knocks to keep me down.” He stood up, dusting off his knees, and then looked at Carlos, and it was obvious he was furious. A bit stunned to see so much naked emotion, when Carlos was usually so stoic, he just blinked at him. 

Carlos nodded, then flipping on the light, went and tried the door. Something was blocking it from the outside, the handle wouldn’t even turn. Before Carlos could get more worked up, Jake put a hand on his arm, and said, “Hey, it’s all right. We didn’t have much in the way of plans for the rest of tonight anyway. Hanging out here isn’t a hardship for me, if it isn’t for you.”

Carlos stopped wrestling with the door, and rested his head on it. “You know what they’ll all be saying.”

Jake huffed, and then laughed. “Yeah, but really, this only improves my reputation. You’re the one who should be worried.”

Rotating so that his back was now leaning on the door, Carlos earnestly said, “I don’t care about that. It’s just high school.”

“So why are you so pissed?”

“I don’t want them pressuring you. I know we decided to just be friends.”

“Hey, I don’t feel pressured. I’d wait forever for you if you wanted. I thought _you_ didn’t want to wait for me.”

Hope was blooming on Carlos’ face, just like Jake felt it rising in his own chest. Carlos said, “I can wait. I’d be happy to wait.”

Feeling brave, Jake slid forward, resting his hands on either side of Carlos’ head. He whispered, “Maybe we can seal it with a kiss?”

Not bothering to reply, Carlos gripped the back of Jake’s head, and pulled him into a scorching kiss. Jake let his body nestle against Carlos’, and opened his mouth for Carlos’ tongue. Carlos pulled him closer, and they stood there making out for long minutes, until someone banged on the other side of the door and yelled, “Get it, Carlos!” It sounded like Clay again.

Carlos broke the kiss with a groan, and thumped his head against the door repeatedly. “I hate my friends.”

“Forget them. Let’s lie down,” Jake replied, nibbling Carlos’ neck. He was finally on the same page as Carlos, and he wasn’t going to let anyone interrupt or ruin the mood.

“Oh god, yes.” Carlos began pushing his shoulders, so that Jake was walking backwards into the room, and then steered him towards the bed. 

Jake went willingly, already pulling at Carlos’ shirt. “Can we take this off?”

Carlos said, “Shirts and shoes, how about that?” Jake just nodded, and began unbuttoning his shirt with trembling fingers. His fingers slowed, however, as Carlos just pulled his shirts over his head, baring his torso. His skin was smooth-looking, with slight definition across his abs and pecs, and Jake wanted to lick all of it. Carlos paused in toeing off his shoes, and said, “Jake?”

Snapping out of his distraction, Jake replied, “Oh, right!” Slipping the buttons through the holes, he made quick work of his shirt, but was only starting to work on his shoes and socks, when Carlos climbed on the bed. Once done, he looked at Carlos lying on the bed, looking like every wet dream he had ever had, and he swallowed against his suddenly dry throat. This was really happening. He had been ambushed by both of their previous make-out sessions, but now he had time to think, and he was consumed with nerves.

Seeming to twig onto Jake’s nervousness, Carlos leaned up on one elbow, and asked, “Is this all right?”

Taking a deep, shuddery breath, and putting on his best bravado, Jake said, “Of course.” He climbed into the bed, and laid down, but then didn’t know where to put his hands, or how close to get to Carlos. Luckily Carlos didn’t seem to have his same reservations, because he rolled so that he was flush against Jake, and wrapped one arm around his waist. Carlos smiled down at him, that small smile that drove Jake wild, and said, “We don’t have to do anything, we can just talk or something.”

Jake fake-scoffed. He said, “Like you ever talk,” which made Carlos’ smile broaden as he swatted at Jake’s shoulder. Jake continued with, “No, I’m good. Just wrapping my head around it.”

“If it is too much, too soon…”

“No, seriously, shut up and kiss me.”

Carlos barked out a laugh, and finally shut up and kissed Jake. It was as drugging as all their kisses were. Jake carefully wrapped one hand around Carlos’ bare shoulder, feeling warm, soft skin. Jake thought things would heat up quickly considering they were half-naked, but Carlos was in control, and he kept the kisses light and fleeting, and his touches soft and soothing.

Jake relaxed under his hand’s calming strokes, and began returning Carlos’ caresses, being just as careful. The buildup of heat was so subtle and so gradual, that when Carlos’ leg shifted and his thigh pressed against Jake’s groin a long time later, he hissed in surprise and arousal at how hard he was. Carlos broke their kiss. In a husky voice, he asked, “Okay?”

“Damn good, in fact. Do that again.” Carlos shifted his leg to nudge against Jake’s cock again, and they both moaned. 

Carlos pulled him into a searing kiss, and all the passion and urgency Jake had been expecting earlier on, erupted between them. Jake pulled at Carlos’ shoulder, tugging him on top of Jake, spreading his legs as he did so, so they could be flush together. Carlos didn’t need any more encouragement. He began thrusting gently into Jake, and Jake had to break the kiss to take deep, panting breaths, it felt so good.

As he came closer and closer to orgasm, he finally pushed at Carlos, saying, “I don’t want to come in my pants, oh god, we need to stop.”

Carlos rolled to the side, and Jake could hear his heavy breathing too. Carlos didn’t say anything, though. He wondered if Carlos thought he was a foolish kid, too scared to go forward, which was so far from the truth. It was just these were his only pants. He didn’t want to walk out tomorrow sticky with dried come.

Finally Carlos turned his head towards Jake, and Jake cautiously looked over. He was thrilled to see that Carlos looking flushed and happy, and not disappointed at all. Carlos smiled sweetly at him. “Okay?”

“Great! Pants off?”

“I am definitely ready for that.” They smiled stupidly at each other for a couple moments, and then Carlos rolled to his knees, and his hands hovered over Jake’s crotch. He asked, “Can I?”

“Dude, a world of yes,” Jake replied. He then bit his lip lightly to keep the whimpering sounds inside as Carlos stroked him lightly through his jeans, and then slowly, much too slowly, began undoing the button. His fingers brushed against Jake’s clothed cock as he lowered the zipper, and Jake had to bite harder to keep quiet, it felt so electric.

Never quiet for long though, even as Jake got the whimpering under control, Carlos began tugging the pants down his legs, and Jake let out a moan. Carlos looked like the cat that got the canary, thrilled and aroused. Jake said, “If you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to come. Forewarned and all that.”

Carlos slanted a flirty look at him, and said, “Kick them off.” Jake did, and then Carlos was sliding his hand down Jake’s belly, and under his briefs to stroke his cock. Jake practically levitated off the bed. “Yes! Oh, damn, do that harder.”

Carlos huffed out a laugh, but then with both hands, started tugging at Jake’s underwear, so Jake eagerly lifted his hips, and then kicked them off as well. In a fleeting thought he realized he was the only one naked in the room, but then Carlos was stroking him again, and he just didn’t care enough to be embarrassed.

Stroking Jake’s cock firmly, Carlos was still kneeling to the side, and Jake’s eyes flickered between Carlos’ hand wrapped around his cock, and Carlos’ face intent with concentration. Jake was panting loudly, and swearing up, down, and sideways, but it was when Carlos used his free hand to push down on his own straining erection that Jake lost it. Knowing that Carlos was getting off on getting him off was too much. He came with a loud groan, and a humming feeling in his ears.

Carlos started swearing in Spanish, which was just not fair, since it was the sexiest thing Jake had ever heard, but he was already spent. Through heavy-lidded eyes, he watched as Carlos wrenched his own jeans open, and began stroking himself fast, and tight. After a few seconds of feeling like he was watching the best porn ever, he realized he could touch too. He jerked up, and pushed at Carlos’ arm to make him stop. Carlos just looked at him with a wild expression. Too incoherent for full sentences, Jake just said, “No. Me.”

Jake scrambled to his knees in front of Carlos, and wrapped his hand around Carlos’ cock for the first time. His own cock twitched in interest, even if it couldn’t get up again so fast. Carlos’ cock was silky and smooth, the skin moving slightly with his hand as he mimicked Carlos’ hard, fast strokes. Carlos mumbled, “Please, oh, please,” and then was kissing Jake frantically as his hips thrust into Jake’s hand. His kiss was biting and rough, and Jake loved it. When Carlos came, and his come splashed over Jake’s hand and his belly, Jake was the one to groan loudly.

Their shoulders slumped towards each other, Jake having the presence of mind, to hold his messy hand off to the side. As Carlos panted, his breath wafting over Jake’s bare shoulder, Jake felt more content than he ever remembered feeling. 

After a few minutes, he shook off his lassitude, reminded himself not to get ahead of things, and with his clean hand, gently pushed Carlos down onto the bed. He said, “I’ll get cleaned up, and bring you a washcloth.”

Carlos fell gracefully sideways, and rolled to his back. He beamed up at Jake, and Jake could feel his own goofy grin emerge in return. Turning away before he said something stupid and sappy, Jake got off the bed, and feeling weird, but trying to act nonchalant, walked to the bathroom naked. He cleaned off, and wet another washcloth for Carlos. Returning to the room, he smiled indulgently to see Carlos still sprawled in the same position, but now with his eyes closed, and his breath deepened in sleep.

Carefully and gently, he cleaned off Carlos’ belly, and then crawled into the bed, making Carlos roll so that he could get them under the blankets. Feeling brave, he snuggled up close to Carlos, who grumbled inaudibly, but still turned to curl around Jake. 

When a now naked Carlos woke Jake in the middle of the night with searing kisses and another hand job, Jake knew this was the best night of his life. 

Of course the best night of his life ended with Carlos’ friends barging into their room at an indecently early hour, making Jake and Carlos scurry around for their clothes, as Roque tried to take embarrassing pictures, and Clay lectured them loudly about safe sex.

It was still worth it.

* * *

Epilogue 

Through both perseverance and luck, Jake and Carlos made it to their fifth anniversary. Of course they argued about whether their anniversary was the first night in the canyon, or that night in the hotel room, but settled it by celebrating both.

They did have their rough spots. Jake filled out and grew taller in college, and other girls and guys finally started noticing him. While it was nice to be appreciated, whenever Jake mentioned that somebody had flirted with him, Carlos got tense and even more stoic, wondering if Jake would fall for some coed’s charms. Then when Carlos had a rough time in Afghanistan, he tried to pull away from Jake, knowing Jake would be better off with some fresh-faced college kid, but Jake was having none of it. It took some convincing, but he finally worked Carlos to his way of thinking, that there was nobody better suited for Jake than Carlos, especially if he felt damaged and broken.

Carlos also had to deal with some good-natured, and some not so good-natured, teasing about having a boyfriend while in the Marines. Some people still felt that this was not welcome, so Carlos had to stand firm behind his relationship, and not let the bigots taint it, which was a challenge at times.

Still they got through their ups and downs, and also their separations as Carlos was on tours overseas. It was hard, but they Skyped and emailed, and desperately worried about each other, while putting on cheerful faces. Jake was particularly happy now, because after too long overseas, Carlos was finally stationed stateside. Jake could telecommute from anywhere, so he was actually thrilled they ended up in San Diego. Sun, sand, and the love of his life, what more could a guy want?

Jake was just getting the house and outdoor grill ready for their first housewarming barbecue. Carlos had somehow convinced not only his family to come for a visit, but also Jake’s older sister Jessica, Clay, Roque, and even Pooch with Jolene, who had also stayed together. Jake didn’t know how he managed it, and was a little worried about everyone freeing themselves up to visit at the same time, but he had decided to trust Carlos, and that Carlos wasn’t secretly dying or something.

So he had done the shopping for steaks and potato salad, while Carlos was at work at the base where he was a firearms instructor, and was just setting up the bins with ice and drinks while he waited for everyone to show up. He was eager to fire up the grill. It was new, and still a novelty.

They had rented a two bedroom condo near base, choosing not to live in base housing. Carlos wanted a separation between his work life and his home life. Jake could understand it, even if he wasn’t built that way. He tended to log onto work at odd hours as ideas came to him, much to Carlos’ horror. 

It was a nice condo, with an open floor plan on the first floor, the bedrooms upstairs, and a nice patio out back. They put a sisal rug down to liven up the concrete slab, bought some patio furniture, and hung twinkling lights along the fence, and Jake thought it had turned out to be a great space. He was proud to show off their space to family and friends. He had lived in hovels or dorm rooms throughout college, and this was his first real place.

Carlos’ family was the first to show up, and Jake hugged everyone hello, overcome with how great it was to see them again. They had taken Jake under their wing when Carlos was overseas, and Jake was left alone at MIT. He spent Christmas and other breaks at their house, in Carlos’ old room, and it brought him closer to the Alvarez clan than he had ever been with his own family. 

By the time Carlos got home, accompanied by some of his fellow Marine friends from base, everyone else was there, music was blaring, and the party was going full force. Carlos greeted him with a kiss, and Jake handed him a beer, with a beaming smile for the affectionate kiss in front of his friends. He liked it that Carlos had friends on base who knew he was in a relationship with Jake, and they didn’t care one way or another. He would hate for him to be isolated.

Since Carlos was finally home, Jake threw the steaks on the grill, and chatted with Carlos’ Dad about marinades, and surfing, which he was trying to learn. Carlos was hanging with his friends, and trying to keep his sisters from flirting with them. It was hilarious to watch. When the steaks were done, they crowded around the tables, some people making do with card tables and folding chairs, but everybody laughing and eating.

It was after dinner, when everyone was stuffed and dancing music was enticing couples to get their groove on, that Carlos asked Jake to dance, which tickled Jake pink. Carlos wasn’t much of a dancer, he mostly just swayed, so for him to ask was sweet. They swayed to the music, their arms wrapped around each other, Carlos resting his head on Jake’s shoulder. 

The music swelled, and then receded for a soft finish, and instead of turning over into another song, the music stopped. Jake raised his head and turned towards the mp3 player docking station frowning at Pooch who was manning it, but then Carlos tugged on his chin. Turning back around to look at Carlos, he was stunned when Carlos let go of him, and gracefully went down on one knee. He pulled a jewelry box out of his pocket, and Jake’s jaw dropped. 

It was dead silent, everyone waiting and seemingly to barely breath, until Carlos, with a hitch in his throat, asked, “Jake Jensen, I love you, will you marry me?”

Too shocked to move or say anything for long seconds, Jake finally fell to his knees, briefly thinking he was glad it wasn’t the bare concrete, and shouted, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” He pulled Carlos into a scorching kiss, as cheers went up around them. They broke apart laughing, and were pulled back up and into hugs from everybody.

Jake finally understood how Carlos had enticed everybody to California, and he wondered how everyone had managed to keep it a secret. He was glad they had though. Just then Carlos pulled him into another kiss, which didn't work well because they were both smiling too much. It was a glorious moment, all the same, and Jake decided that this was just the beginning of a string of the best days of his life.


End file.
